“I LOVE IT HERE” – That’s the sentiment of Barbara Flinn, a transplant to Hyannis from Connecticut since 1954. Flinn chairs the Barnstable Historical Commission.

Keeping an eye on the town’s historic resources

Hyannis is the home of the chairperson of the Barnstable Historical Commission.

Barbara Flinn lives “just outside” her village’s historical district, in a house whose oldest section was built in 1930, was moved to its present location, and has grown “like the house that Jack built,” she said.

She moved here in 1954 with her parents from Norwich, Conn., and her father opened a hardware store. “It was where the Heritage Hotel is now,” she said.

Flinn came by her berth on the commission because of her involvement in other civic organizations rather than through a direct interest in history, but she does claim a bit of Hyannis’ past in her personal story: she was on the grounds of the Armory when John F. Kennedy made his presidential acceptance speech inside 49 years ago.

“I was outside,” she recalled of the event, “and I think he was too.” Time has dimmed the rest of the details for her.

What does Flinn see as important historical concerns for the town now?

“I would like to see a longer demolition delay” for old buildings, she said promptly. “Bourne and Chatham have them already.” Too often, she said, “the bulldozer is the first stage” – as opposed to repairs and restoration, when an old property changes hands. The six-month wait for demolition, she said, “is not enough. Too many people say, ‘I can wait that out’ and then they just go ahead.”

One solution to the problem, she suggested, “would be a tax break for people who want to rehab an old home. It’s an expensive project.”

She said that it would be wise for the town to become one of the state’s “Certified Local Governments” (CLG). This classification “would let us compete in a smaller pool of towns” for grants that could help preserve historic buildings. She said Provincetown got such funds for preservation of its Town Hall.

There’s good economic sense to historic preservation, said Flinn: “If we lose historic buildings, people would have no reason to come here. People travel for history. Nobody travels to see another T-shirt shop.”

Flinn said that she is pleased with the way the historical commission and the Hyannis Main Street merchants have worked together: “I think Main Street is looking good now. And I think that property is worth more if you use taste in remodeling. I think that Main Street is improved because of the historical commission.”

Flinn said that the arts go hand-in-hand with history and supports cultural uses for old buildings. “Museums don’t make a lot of money, but the people who come to see them spend a lot of money to stay in hotels and motels and to eat in restaurants,” she said.

“Each work of art is unique; each historic building is unique,” she explained. Therefore, she said, the more art we create and the more history we preserve, the more we can attract visitors.

Marilyn Fifield, clerk of the Barnstable Historical Commission, works closely with Flinn in the body’s work. “She is knowledgeable,” said Fifield. “And she wears a lot of hats. I hear that she is a talented seamstress.”

Flinn’s commitment to the village has led her to involvement with the Hyannis Civic Association, Friends of the Hyannis Library, and with the Hyannis Main Street Waterfront Historic District Commission (she is vice chairperson) as well.

But above all, Flinn mused as nineteenth-century issues of the Patriot sat on the table before her, most of all she just likes being in Hyannis.

“I enjoy the town,” she said. “I always feel like a tourist. I love it here.” As if to underscore her point, she repeated, “I love it here, and I feel very lucky to be here.”